With less than a month until election day, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the United Auto Workers leadership held a union rally in northern Illinois on Friday to discuss some of the stakes in the upcoming election -- like the future of the Stellantis plant in Belvidere.
At UAW Local 11268 hall, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain railed against former Pres. Donald Trump’s revamped NAFTA agreement, called the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, signed in 2020.
“With his failed NAFTA 2.0 we see more plant closures, more jobs shipped overseas,” Fain said. “We've seen companies like John Deere and Master Lock take full advantage of his trade deal and exploit workers and further hook communities, just like this.”
The Stellantis plant is idle as talks for reopening have stalled, and fears of the company moving operations overseas are growing.
Fain was joined by other union leaders as part of Vermont Sen. Sanders national tour promoting a working-class agenda. During his remarks the senator shared his signature talking points like closing the wealth gap between the working class and the rich.
Also, Sanders called on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to keep the original agreement made with union.
“You made a promise, keep it,” Sanders said. “Don't renege on it. Reopen the plant here in Belvidere as soon as possible, put the people who made the money for your company back to work.”
The senator rallied against the possibility of Stellantis moving the plant to Mexico to save costs. Under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, also known as NAFTA 2.0, the move would be permissible. Sanders has rallied against the trade agreement since it was enacted under President Bill Clinton in 1992. He pointed out that he and then California Senator Kamala Harris voted against Trump’s renegotiated agreement.
UAW endorsed Vice President Harris for U.S. president in August.
